5.4C. SR 07-22-2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Park Department Formation Report to the EJk River Cit7 Council October 200 I Page 10 development of short and long-term budgets. They would also work with the school district and county, state and federal agencies regarding joint ventures and grant or matching fund opportunities. The Commission also believes that by creating a department to encompass all park and recreation related activities including park maintenance, recreation programming, park planning, senior programming, and arena operations, at least three current departments could concentrate fully on issues related directly to their departments and not have to juggle park and recreation issues. The new department could also be the City's full time advocate on forestry and tree preservation issues as well as coordinating volunteer efforts in the park system. The Commission recognizes that many departments within the City have been doing parts of these elements. As the City continues to grow and citizens demand a more developed park and recreation system, the demand on other departments will also increase. It is time to create a single department with a full time focus on present and future park and recreation needs. Recommendation Based on the Commission's findings, it makes the following recommendations to the Elk River City Council. Recommendation 1: The City Council take action to formally establish a City Parks and Recreation Department that will assume primary responsibility for coordinating all activities connected with the planning, programming, development and ongoing maintenance of the City of Elk River Parks and Recreation sites and facilities. Current and future Community Recreation, Ice Arena, and Senior Program staff will be included as components of the new Department. Recommendation 2: The City Council be guided by the timeline included in Section 6 for the key staffing milestones to be achieved in the creation of the Parks and Recreation Department.